Chitosan/oleamide blended electrospun nanofiber with enhanced spinnability and moderate hydrophobicity

Chitosan-based nanofibers have become attractive biomaterials for wound healing and dressing applications based on their intrinsic biocompatibility, biodegradability, and antibacterial properties. However, the unstable spinnability of chitosan-based nanofibers has impeded further applications. In this paper, a fatty acid amide oleamide was used as a blending material for nanofiber fabrication. The addition of oleamide into chitosan moderately decreased the viscosity of the electrospinning solution, resulting in enhanced spinnability when constructing chitosan/oleamide blended nanofibers. Remarkably, the 1:0.5 ratio of chitosan/oleamide nanofibers exhibited relatively high hydrophobicity, decreased tensile strength, and increased elongation at break compared to chitosan-only nanofiber. The nanofiber showed similar and slightly higher cell adhesion in the in vitro cell culture with mouse preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 and fibroblast NIH/3T3 cells, respectively; however, the cell proliferation levels were decreased on the blended nanofiber surfaces, presumably due to their increased hydrophobicity. These results suggest that chitosan/oleamide nanofibers with high spinnability can be applied to the preparation of wound dressing membranes or patches with intrinsic antibacterial properties and moderate hydrophobicity. We expect that oleamide, which has lubricant and antibacterial properties, can be utilized as a blending component of chitosan-based nanofibers for biomaterial and tissue engineering applications.

Automated summary

Chitosan-based nanofibers are promising biomaterials for wound healing and dressing applications due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and antibacterial properties. However, their unstable spinnability has limited their further use. In this study, oleamide, a fatty acid amide, was added to chitosan to improve the spinnability of the nanofibers. The addition of oleamide resulted in lower viscosity of the electrospinning solution, leading to enhanced spinnability. The chitosan/oleamide nanofibers exhibited higher hydrophobicity and decreased tensile strength compared to chitosan-only nanofibers. Cell adhesion in vitro was similar or slightly higher on the blended nanofibers, but cell proliferation was decreased, likely due to the increased hydrophobicity. These findings suggest that chitosan/oleamide nanofibers with improved spinnability could be used for wound dressing with antibacterial properties and moderate hydrophobicity.